Portable electronic device and associated charging stand

ABSTRACT

A portable electronic device and associated charging stand assembly where the portable electronic device has an inbuilt printer and the associated charging stand recharges the device battery and refills the printer.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 10/503,901 filed Aug. 9, 2004,which is a 371 of PCT/AU03/00170, all of which is herein incorporated byreference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to electronic devices having an internal printerand to a charging assembly for replenishing the internal ink reservoirof the printer.

This application refers to the following co-pending applications of thepresent applicant, the entire contents of which are duly incorporatedherein:

CO-PENDING APPLICATIONS

Various methods, systems and apparatus relating to the present inventionare disclosed in the following co-pending applications filed by theapplicant or assignee of the present invention simultaneously with thepresent application: PCT/AU03/00154 PCT/AU03/00151 PCT/AU03/00150 PCT/AU03/00145 PCT/AU03/00153 PCT/AU03/00152 PCT/AU03/00168 PCT/ AU03/00169PCT/AU03/00170 PCT/AU03/00162 PCT/AU03/00146 PCT/ AU03/00159PCT/AU03/00171 PCT/AU03/00149 PCT/AU03/00167 PCT/ AU03/00158PCT/AU03/00147 PCT/AU03/00166 PCT/AU03/00164 PCT/ AU03/00163PCT/AU03/00165 PCT/AU03/00160 PCT/AU03/00157 PCT/ AU03/00148PCT/AU03/00156 PCT/AU03/00155

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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Historically, printers have been desktop devices and have thus beenlarge and immobile. Printers have had large capacity ink cartridgesrequiring seldom replacement. Replacement ink cartridges are typicallykept on hand so that when the current ink cartridge is exhausted it canbe replaced with little interruption to the printer operation.

Recent developments have seen printers being incorporated into portabletelecommunications devices such as mobile telephones. Examples of suchapplications can be found in the present applicant's co-pendingapplications listed above. However, with a portable printer, there is aproblem that a replacement ink cartridge will not always be at hand ifthe ink supply is exhausted. To overcome this problem the ink cartridgewill be replaced before it is absolutely necessary resulting in awastage of ink otherwise there will be a risk that the ink supply willrun out, rendering the printer useless until a replacement ink cartridgeis found.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with a first aspect of the invention, there is provided acharging stand for a mobile telecommunications device having an internalprinter, the charging stand including:

a base;

a receptacle formed in said base and adapted to releasably receive amobile telecommunications device;

a power connection for receiving power with which to provide rechargingpower to a mobile telecommunication device;

an ink reservoir storing at least one type or color of ink;

a power transmission arrangement for providing the recharging power to amobile telecommunications device when positioned in the receptacle; and

at least one ink connection adapted to engage complimentary inkreceiving connections of a mobile telecommunications device, forproviding ink from the at least one ink reservoir to the inktelecommunications device when the telecommunications device ispositioned in the receptacle.

Preferably, the power transmission arrangement includes one or moreconductive contacts configured to engage complementary conductivecontacts on a mobile telecommunications device placed within thereceptacle. An electrical circuit can thereby be established forrecharging a battery of the telecommunications device.

Alternatively, the power transmission arrangement can include a magneticfield generator for generating an inductive coupling between the standand a suitable inductive current generation device within the mobiletelecommunications device for recharging a battery of thetelecommunications device, configured such that the telecommunicationsdevice automatically recharges the battery when placed in thereceptacle.

Preferably, the power connection is an external power connection forreceiving power from a remote source.

It is particularly preferred that the ink reservoir be a removable inkcartridge. In this case, the ink connection includes at least onecartridge connection for engaging at least one correspondingcomplementary formation on said ink cartridge.

Preferably, the ink reservoir includes a plurality of ink chambersstoring distinct ink colours and/or types, each of said chambersincluding at least one of said ink connections. More preferably, thecartridge includes one or more ink chambers each including an outlet,wherein the cartridge connection includes one or more cartridge pinsadapted to be received by said chamber outlets respectively. It ispreferred that each of the cartridge outlets include an elastomericseal.

Preferably, an elastomeric pad surrounds the cartridge pins, or each ofsaid cartridge pins. The pad or pads are compressible to expose thecartridge pins.

In a preferred form, the ink cartridge is configured for reception insaid receptacle.

In one embodiment, the charging stand further includes an ink connectorincluding: the ink connections; the ink cartridge connections; and anink conduit connecting each cartridge connection with a respective inkconnection. In this case, the ink connector can be located within thecharging stand such that the ink connections and the cartridgeconnections are disposed in the receptacle.

Preferably, the ink connections include one or more device pins adaptedto be received in one or more inlets of said telecommunications device.More preferably, the stand includes an elastomeric pad around the devicepins, the pad being compressible to expose the device pins.

In a preferred embodiment, the ink reservoir is disposed on the chargingstand such that when a telecommunications device including an internalprinter is received in the receptacle, gravity causes ink to flow fromthe ink reservoir to the printer of the telecommunications device.

In a second aspect, the present invention provides a charging stand fora mobile telecommunications device having an internal printer, thecharging stand including a base, a receptacle formed in said base andadapted to receive a mobile telecommunications device therein, anexternal power connection, a removable ink cartridge storing one or moreinks and adapted to be received in said receptacle, one or more powercontacts adapted to engage complimentary contacts on said mobiletelecommunications device to provide for recharging a battery of saidmobile telecommunications device from said external power connection,and an ink connector including one or more cartridge connections adaptedto engage complimentary connections on said ink cartridge, one or moredevice connections adapted to engage complimentary formations on amobile telecommunications device and one or more ink flow conduitsconnecting said cartridge connections and said device connections.

In a third aspect, the present invention provides a mobiletelecommunications device having an internal printer, the mobiletelecommunications device including a power recharge interface and anink supply interface for accepting recharging power and ink from acharging stand in accordance with any one of the preceding claims.

In a fourth aspect, the present invention provides a recharging devicefor providing a mobile telecommunications device having an internalprinter with recharging power and ink, the recharging device includingan ink supply output for releasable connection to a complementary inksupply input of the mobile telecommunications device, and a powerrecharging output for providing recharging power to the mobiletelecommunications device when it is connected to the ink supply output.

Preferably, the recharging device further includes a power supplyconnection for connecting an external power supply that provides, inuse, power to the power recharging output.

More preferably, the power recharging output includes a conductive powersupply contact for engaging a corresponding conductive power receivingcontact of the mobile telecommunications device.

Alternatively, the power recharging output includes an inductivecoupling arrangement for inductively coupling with a correspondinginductive arrangement in the mobile telecommunications device, in use.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way ofexample only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a charging stand, in accordance with theinvention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a charging stand with a mobile telephonepositioned therein;

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the charging stand;

FIG. 4 is an assembled view of the charging stand of FIG. 3,

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a removable ink cartridge;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a mobile telephone adapted for use witha charging stand of the invention; and

FIG. 7 is a cross section of a charging stand and mobile telephone, inaccordance with the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

A charging stand according to the invention is shown generally at 10 inFIG. 1. The stand 10 receives a mobile telecommunications device 20,e.g. a mobile telephone, as depicted in FIG. 2. The stand 10 includes abase 11 with a receptacle 12 that receives the mobile telephone. A setof ink contacts 13 and power contacts 14 are disposed in the basereceptacle 12. The base 11 also receives an ink cartridge 50.

Reference is now made to FIG. 3, which is an exploded view of thecharging stand 10 illustrating the internal features. The charging stand10 includes a base moulding 31 and base plate 32. A power cord 33 passesthrough an aperture in the base moulding 31 and connects to a PrintedCircuit Board (PCB) 34 within the base moulding 31. The opposite end ofthe power cord 33 includes a standard plug for connection with mainspower, which will usually be alternating current (AC). In this case, thepower will need to be rectified if it is to be fed to the battery of themobile telecommunications device in a direct current (DC) form.Alternatively, the charging stand is configured for connection with analternative power source such as through the cigarette lighterconnection of a car, which will usually be direct current (DC). Ineither case, the power will typically need to be stepped down to providecompatible voltage and current to a battery of the mobiletelecommunications device.

The PCB 34 supports components including a power-in plug 35, a speakerplug 36 connected to a speaker 37 and charging contacts 38. The power-inplug 35, speaker plug 36 and charging contacts 38 protrude through thebase moulding 31 into the receptacle 12.

The base moulding 31 also houses ink connections 39 that include hollowcartridge connection pins 40 and device connection pins 41 connectedthrough a conduit in an ink connection base 42. Four pins are shown inFIG. 3 that provide an ink flow path for three colour inks and blackink. The cartridge pins and device pins protrude through the basemoulding 31 into the receptacle 12. Elastomeric pads 43 are formedaround the pins 40, 41 for protection but compress to the configurationdepicted in FIG. 3 during loading of an ink cartridge or telephonedevice into the receptacle, thereby exposing the pins for use. Thedevice pins may be fitted with a cap or seal that prevents ink flow whenno device is received in the receptacle but are removed prior to, or inthe act of, loading a device into the charging stand.

FIG. 4 demonstrates the resilience of the elastomeric pads 43 once theink cartridge and telephone have been removed. The pads return to theiruncompressed state thereby providing protection to the ink cartridgepins and device pins when the pins are not in use. In addition toproviding protection, the elastomeric pads 43 also act to seal the inkflow path through the ink connector 40 thereby preventing any inktrapped within the connector 40 from drying out and potentially causinga blockage. As can be seen from FIG. 4 the power-in plug 35, speakerplug 36 and charging contacts 38 remain exposed.

The charging stand receives a removable ink cartridge 50 of the typeillustrated in FIG. 5. The ink cartridge 50 includes an ink reservoirsized to fit into the receptacle 12 of the charging stand. Internallythe ink cartridge is divided into four separate chambers for the fourdifferent types of ink. Four apertures 51 formed in the end of thecartridge 50 provide an outlet for each of the four chambers and arelocated on the cartridge 50 so as to receive the cartridge pins 41 ofthe charging stand when the cartridge is loaded into the receptacle ofthe charging stand. A seal 53, for example an elastomeric seal, isdisposed within each ink chamber about the outlet 51 to seal therespective chamber when the cartridge is removed from the chargingstand.

The cartridge 50 may be provided with a QA chip and contacts 52 thatcommunicate with similar contacts 45 (FIG. 4) on the charging stand toensure that only compatible cartridges 50 are used with the chargingstand.

The charging stand 10 receives a mobile telephone 20 or like deviceequipped with an internal printer and battery. As shown in FIG. 6, thetelephone 20 includes a series of ink inlet ports 60 that lead to theink supply systems of the printer, a power socket 61, hands free jack 62and charging contacts 63 leading to a battery or like charge storagedevice of the telephone. When the telephone 20 is loaded onto thecharging stand receptacle 12 as depicted in FIG. 2, the ink inlets,power socket, hands free jack and charging contacts align with andengage respectively the device pins, power-in connection, speaker plugand charging contacts of the charging stand. Power is then supplied tothe telephone both to allow operation of the telephone and to re-chargethe telephone batteries in a known manner.

FIG. 7 shows a reverse cross section of the loaded charging stand ofFIG. 2 illustrating the connection from the printer of the telephone tothe ink cartridge 50. As shown in FIG. 7, the ink cartridge 50 isdisposed in the receptacle such that the cartridge pin 40 has penetratedthe seal 53 and protrudes into one of the ink chambers of the cartridge.Similarly, the ink inlet ports of the telephone have engaged the devicepins of the charging stand. Thus the ink connector 39 provides a conduitfrom the ink cartridge 50 to the ink reservoirs of the printer.Pressure, gravitational or osmotic effects between the ink chambers ofthe cartridge and the ink reservoir of the printer causes ink to flow tothe printer reservoir.

While the embodiments of the invention have been described withparticular reference to mobile telephones, it will be apparent to theskilled addressee that the invention is equally suitable to other typesof mobile telecommunications devices such as Wireless Internet AccessDevices (WIADs), in particular Wireless Applications Protocol (WAP)terminals, pagers etc.

The charging stand of the present invention allows the battery and inksupplies of a mobile telephone with printer to be re-chargedsimultaneously. Furthermore, using a charging stand as herein described,it is unlikely that ink supplies of the printer would ever be exhaustedas by the time this event occurred, there would be insufficient power inthe battery to operate the printer.

The invention has also been described with reference to a four colourprinter where the ink cartridge of the charging stand has four chambersfor three colour inks and black ink. The configuration of the inkcartridge and the number of pins of the ink connector will depend on thetype of printer employed in the mobile telecommunications device. Forexample the cartridge may store only black ink. Alternatively or inaddition, the ink cartridge may include a chamber and ink connection forsupplying infra-red ink or some other ink type to a printer.

It will be appreciated that although the preferred embodiment of theinvention takes the form of a stand, an alternative embodiment (notshown) is a plug that interfaces with corresponding ink and powersockets in a phone or communications device. An ink reservoir and powersupply are still provided, but there is no stand or cradle for the phoneto sit in. Rather, once the plug is plugged into the correspondingsocket, the phone is simply laid in a suitable place such as a benchtopor desk. A potential advantage of this embodiment is that the inkreservoir (which might be relatively bulky if of high capacity) can belocated remotely from the mobile phone charging point, such as on thefloor or on a shelf out of the way. In some cases, this can avoid thereservoir being bumped, or at least diminishes the amount of clutter ina work area. The reservoir in this case can also be mounted in the samehousing as, or adjacent to, a transformer for rectifying AC mains powerfor supply to the mobile phone.

While particular embodiments of this invention have been described, itwill be evident to those skilled in the art that the present inventionmay be embodied in other specific forms without departing from theessential characteristics thereof. The present embodiments and examplesare therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and notrestrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appendedclaims rather than the foregoing description, and all changes which comewithin the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are thereforeintended to be embraced therein. It will further be understood that anyreference herein to known prior art does not, unless the contraryindication appears, constitute an admission that such prior art iscommonly known by those skilled in the art to which the inventionrelates.

1. A portable electronic device and associated charging stand assemblycomprising: a portable electronic device with an inbuilt printer, abattery and a printing fluid interface for receiving printing fluid tobe used by the printer; and, a charging stand having a receptacle forreleasably receiving the portable electronic device, a power connectionfor electrical connection to an external power supply, a powertransmission arrangement for providing the recharging power to thebattery when the portable electronic device is in the receptacle, aprinting fluid reservoir storing printing fluid for use by the inbuiltprinter, and a printing fluid connection for engaging the printing fluidinterface to establish fluid communication between the printing fluidreservoir and the inbuilt printer when the portable electronic device isin the receptacle.
 2. An assembly according to claim 1 wherein theportable electronic device is a mobile telecommunications device and theprinting fluid reservoir is an ink reservoir.
 3. An assembly accordingto claim 1 wherein the power transmission arrangement has terminals forengaging electrical contacts on the portable electronic device when itis in the receptacle in order to recharge the battery.
 4. An assemblyaccording to claim 1 wherein the power transmission arrangement includesa magnetic field generator for generating an inductive coupling betweenthe stand and an inductive current generation device within the portableelectronic device for recharging the battery when it is in thereceptacle.
 5. An assembly according to claim 2 wherein said inkreservoir is a removable ink cartridge and the printing fluid connectionhas at least one cartridge connection for engaging at least onecorresponding complementary formation on said ink cartridge.
 6. Anassembly according to claim 2 wherein said ink reservoir includes aplurality of ink chambers storing distinct ink colours and/or types,each of said chambers including at least one of said printing fluidconnections.
 7. An assembly according to claim 6 wherein said inkcartridge includes one or more ink chambers each including an outlet,wherein said cartridge connection includes one or more cartridge pinsadapted to be received by said chamber outlets respectively.
 8. Anassembly according to claim 7 wherein each of said cartridge outletsinclude an elastomeric seal.
 9. An assembly according to claim 7 furthercomprising an elastomeric pad surrounding the cartridge pins or each ofsaid cartridge pins, each pad or pads being compressible to expose saidcartridge pins.
 10. An assembly according to claim 5 wherein said inkcartridge is configured for reception in said receptacle.
 11. Anassembly according to claim 1 wherein said printing fluid connection hasone or more device pins adapted to be received in one or more inlets ofsaid printing fluid interface.
 12. An assembly according to claim 11wherein the printing fluid connection further comprises an elastomericpad around said device pins wherein said pad is compressible to exposesaid device pins.
 13. An assembly according to claim 1 wherein saidprinting fluid reservoir is disposed such that printing fluid flows intothe inbuilt printer under gravity feed when the portable electronicdevice is in said receptacle.